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July 14, 2016

The Europeans national days

Today, the 14th of July, it’s the French national day. It’s the occasion, in this article a bit special, to present all the national days in Europe, with a description for the countries in European Union.

1/ February
• 11th: Vatican City
• 15th: Serbia
• 16th: Lithuania – The Day of Restauration of the State of Lithuania (Lietuvos valstybės atkūrimo diena) – This date marks the anniversary of the Act of Reinstating Independence of Lithuania, that was signed by the Council of Lithuania on February 16, 1918, proclaiming the restoration of an independent State of Lithuania (from Russia), governed by democratic principles, with Vilnius as its capital.• 17th: Kosovo
• 24th: Estonia – Independence Day (Eesti Vabariigi aastapäev) – It is a national holiday in Estonia marking the anniversary of the Estonian Declaration of Independence in 1918, from Russia, after the Russian Revolution.

2/ March• 1st: Bosnia and Herzegovina
• 3rd: Bulgaria – Liberation Day (Ден на Освобождението на България от османско робство!) – The date of 3 March marks the date of the signing the Treaty of San Stefano in 1878. It honours the Bulgarian volunteers who, during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 with the assistance of Russian and Romanian forces, liberated Bulgaria from almost 500 years of Ottoman rule.
• 17th: Ireland – Saint Patrick’s Day (Lá Fhéile Pádraig) – It is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (385–461), the foremost patron saint of Ireland.
• 25th: Greece – Independence day (Ikostí-pémpti Martíou) – This date marks the anniversary of the declaration of the start of Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire, in 1821.

3/ April

• 21st: United Kingdom – Queen’s Official Birthday – Currently the UK has no single official national day, although the Queen’s Official Birthday is used for this purpose in some contexts. The monarch’s birthday has been celebrated in the United Kingdom since 1748, during the reign of King George II.

• 27th: Netherlands – King’s Day (Koningsdag) – The date marks the birth of King Willem-Alexander. It can be different according to the different kings and queens. It was the 30th April for the Queen Beatrix.

4/ May• 17th: Norway • 26th: Georgia• 28th: Armenia• 28th: Azerbaijan

5/ June• 2nd: Italy – The Republic day (Festa della Repubblica) – The day commemorates the institutional referendum held by universal suffrage in 1946, in which the Italian people were called to the polls to decide on the form of government, following the Second World War and the fall of Fascism.
• 5th: Denmark – Constitution Day (Grundlovsdag) – It is the anniversary of the signing of the Danish Constitution of 1849, which established Denmark as a constitutional monarchy, and honors the constitution of 1953, which was adopted on the same date. The day, however, is not really a national day as is seen in other countries.
• 6th: Sweden – National Day of Sweden (Sveriges nationaldag) – The tradition of celebrating this date began 1916 at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium, in honour of the election of King Gustav Vasa in 1523, as this was considered the foundation of modern Sweden.
• 10th: Portugal – Day of Portugal, Camões, and the Portuguese Communities (Dia de Portugal, de Camões e das Comunidades Portuguesas) – During this day, Portuguese citizens and emigrants throughout the world celebrate this holiday. The date commemorates the death of national literary icon Luís de Camões on 10 June 1580.• 12th: Russia• 17th: Iceland• 23rd: Luxembourg – Grand Duke’s Official Birthday (Lëtzebuerger Nationalfeierdag) – It is celebrated on 23rd June, although this has never been the actual birthday of any ruler of Luxembourg. It is celebrated as the annual national holiday of Luxembourg.
• 25th: Croatia – Statehood Day (Dan državnosti) – is a holiday that occurs every year on 25 June in Croatia to celebrate the country’s 1991 declaration of independence from Yugoslavia. After the independence referendum held on 19 May 1991, the Croatian Parliament formally proclaimed independence with “Ustavna odluka o suverenosti i samostalnosti Republike Hrvatske” (the Constitutional decision on sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Croatia).
• 25th: Slovenia – Statehood Day (Dan državnosti) – In this day, people commemorates the country’s declaration of independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Although the formal declaration of independence did not come until 26 June 1991, Statehood Day is considered to be 25 June since that was the date on which the initial acts regarding independence were passed and Slovenia became independent.

6/ July• 13th: Montenegro• 14th: France – Bastille day (Le 14 juillet) – The French National Day commemorates the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, during the revolution that had begun two days earlier, as well as the “Fête de la Fédération” which celebrated the unity of the French people on 14 July 1790.
• 21st: Belgium – Belgian National Day (Nationale feestdag van België – Fête nationale belge – Belgischer Nationalfeiertag) – The festival’s formal establishment commemorates the independence of the state of Belgium, on 21 July 1831 in which Leopold of Saxe-Cobourg swore allegiance to the new Belgian constitution, thus becoming the nation’s first monarch.

8/ September• 1st: Slovakia – Constitution of the Slovak Republic Day (Deň Ústavy Slovenskej republiky) – It celebrate the establishment of the constitution effectively brought to end the state of Czechoslovakia, leading to establishment of the Czech and Slovak republics on 1 January 1993.• 3rd: San Marino• 8th: Andorra• 8th: Republic of Macedonia• 21st: Malta – Independence day (Jum L-Indipendenza) – It celebrate the Independence Day. The nation’s independence was granted in 1964, Malta became a parliamentary democracy in the Commonwealth of Nations, and a Republic in 1973.

9/ October• 1st: Cyprus – Cyprus Independence Day – It celebrate the independence of Cyprus, from United Kingdom, in 1960.
• 3rd: Germany – Day of German Unity (Tag der Deutschen Einheit) – It commemorates the anniversary of German reunification in 1990, when the goal of a united Germany that originated in the middle of the 19th century, was fulfilled again.• 12th: Spain – Spanish national day (Fiesta Nacional de España) – This day commemorates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s first arrival in the Americas, in 1492.
• 23rd: Hungary – National day (Nemzeti ünnep) – It commemorate the 1956 Revolution (which aimed at the departure of the Soviet troops from Hungary and free elections). Also the day of the proclamation of the Third Hungarian Republic (1989).• 26th: Austria – Austrian national day (Nationalfeierdag) – This day commemorates the Declaration of Neutrality. It was a declaration by the Austrian Parliament declaring the country permanently neutral. It was enacted on 26 October 1955 as a constitutional act of parliament. The neutrality became part of the Constitution of Austria.
• 28th: Czech Republic – Independent Czechoslovak State Day (Den vzniku samostatného československého státu) – This day marks the independence from Austro-Hungarian Empire and the creation of the state of Czechoslovakia (who has split into Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993).• 29th: Turkey

10/ November• 11th: Poland – National Independence Day (Narodowe Święto Niepodległości) – It is a national day in Poland celebrated on 11 November to commemorate the anniversary of the restoration of Poland’s sovereignty as the Second Polish Republic in 1918, after 123 years of partition by the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Habsburg Empire.
• 18th: Latvia – Proclamation Day of the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republikas proklamēšanas diena) – It marks the anniversary of the Proclamation of Independence of Latvia by the People’s Council of Latvia in 1918, from Russia, after the Russian Revolution.• 19th: Monaco• 28th: Albania

11/ December• 1st: Romania – Great Union Day (Ziua Marii Uniri) – It commemorates the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia, which declared the Union of Transylvania with Romania. On December 1, 1918, the National Assembly of Romanians of Transylvania and Hungary, consisting of 1,228 elected representatives of the Romanians in Transylvania, Banat, Crişana and Maramureş, convened in Alba Iulia and decreed (by unanimous vote) “the unification of those Romanians and of all the territories inhabited by them with Romania. ”.
• 6th: Finland – Finland’s Independence Day (itsenäisyyspäivä – självständighetsdagen) – to celebrate Finland’s declaration of independence from the Russia in 1917. The movement for Finland’s independence started after the revolutions in Russia. This gave Finland an opportunity to withdraw from Russian rule.